الحمد لله نحمده ونستعينه ونستغفره، ونعوذ بالله من شرور أنفسنا، ومن سيئات أعمالنا ، وأشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له ، وأشهد أن سيدنا محمداً عبده ورسوله ، اللهم صلِّ وسلم وبارك على سيدنا محمد وعلى آله وأصحابه  ومن تبعه إلى يوم الدين 

In today’s talk, I’ll inshallah continue with the study of the names of Allah as part of our answer to the fourth question in the series of the topic entitled:” Your Life in Light of Eternity”, as a reminder, this topic addresses the following four questions:

1. What is the purpose of our lives on earth? The answer was to prepare us for eternity when we return to Allah who will assess whether we are worthy of being in His company in Paradise forever or He will send us to another place as punishment for our failure
2. What is the nature of this life on earth? The answer was that our life on earth is a temporary assignment, it is a test, and it is a trust.
3. What is our role on earth to fulfil the purpose of our lives on it? The answer was to worship Allah and we defined worship as total obedience to Allah’s commands motivated by our love and gratitude to Him and by our trust in Him that all His commands are intended for our benefits.
4. What are the traits and qualities that we must possess to fulfill our role and achieve our purpose on earth? The answer was Adopting in our character elements of the Names/Attributes of Allah.

We already addressed the two unique names, Allah and Al-Rahman and started discussing the other names and we discussed Allah’s name Al-Rahime.   in this talk we will, insha’Allah, start discussing The first two names in verse 23 of Surat Al-Hashr (59) that includes eight names:

هُوَ اللَّهُ الَّذِي لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْمَلِكُ الْقُدُّوسُ السَّلَامُ الْمُؤْمِنُ الْمُهَيْمِنُ الْعَزِيزُ الْجَبَّارُ الْمُتَكَبِّرُ سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ

“He is Allah, there is no god but He, Al-Malik (The King), Al-Quddus (The Holy), the Source of Peace, the keeper of Faith, the Guardian, the Eminent, the Compeller, the Proud, glory to Allah above the partners they attribute to Him.” (Al-Hashr 59:23)

The two names that we will discuss in the talk are, Al-Malik (الملك) and Al-Quddus (القدوس)  

Al-Malik (الملك) – The King, The Sovereign

Allah’s name, Al-Malik (الملك) which can be translated as The King or The Sovereign, was revealed in the Quran five times in five verses (Taha 20:114, Al-Muminun 23:116, Al-Hashr 59:23, Al-Jumu’ah 62:1 and Al-Naas 114:2).

Allah is Al-Malik, The King, but He is not like other kings in at least four areas:

1. While all kings on earth have limited area under their rule, Allah, the King, has full control over all the universe, including all the earth and the heavens.
2. While all kings on earth do not own everything in their kingdom, Allah, the King, owns everything that exists in the universe and anything that is owned by others are merely a temporary trust that Allah placed under their control.
3. While all the kings on earth do not have full control over everything that happen in their kingdom, Allah, the King, has full control over everything that happen in the earth and in the heavens. Nothing happens in the universe, even a leaf that falls from the tree, but Allah, the King, is fully aware of it.
4. While all the kings on earth are in need for services from their subjects, Allah, the king, has no need from anyone or anything and in contrary everything that exists in the universe is in need of Him.

Therefore, when we invoke Allah’s name Al-Malik (the King), we realize that it encompasses five integrated elements that are unique to Him:

1. He is the ruler over all that exists in the universe.
2. He is the owner of everything that exists.
3. He has full control of everything that exists.
4. He has no need for anything that exists.
5. Everything that exists is in need of Him.

Everything that anyone has, whether it is power, wealth, health, dignity, or knowledge, are the property of Allah but, at His will, He placed them under that person’s hand for a while.  But Allah continues to own and control them and thus He can take them away any time He wishes, and He can also multiply them any time He wishes.  Allah says in Surah Al-Imran:

قُلِ اللَّهُمَّ مَالِكَ الْمُلْكِ تُؤْتِي الْمُلْكَ مَنْ تَشَاءُ وَتَنْزِعُ الْمُلْكَ مِمَّنْ تَشَاءُ وَتُعِزُّ مَنْ تَشَاءُ وَتُذِلُّ مَنْ تَشَاءُ بِيَدِكَ الْخَيْرُ إِنَّكَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ

“Say: O’ Allah, the Owner of the kingdom, You give the kingdom to whom You will and take kingdom away from whom You will, You bestow honor on whom You will and bring disgrace to whom You will.  In Your hand all that is good.  Verily You have power over all things.” (Al-Imran 3:26) 

Early Muslims have clarity regarding this name, and they were fully aware that everything that they own belongs to Allah and they are only trustee of it.  Therefore, if you ask any simple Arab who owned a herd of camels: To whom do these camels belong? He would answer without any hesitation: “They belong to Allah Who placed them in my hand as a temporary trust”. 

This is how we should look at everything we have. They belong to Allah, and He entrusted us with them by placing them in our hand.  It is a sign of respect to Allah that we should have more trust in what is in Allah’s hand than what is in our hand.  So, if we want to be rich, trust that all wealth is in the hand of Allah.  If we want to be powerful, rely totally on Allah.   If we want to be most honorable among people, be righteous and fear Allah.

If you want to be the wealthiest, the most powerful, the most generous, the happiest person, be conscious of Allah, rely on Him and have full trust that everything that you ever want is in His hand.

The Prophet (PBUH) emphasized to his companions the importance of self-reliance and not asking people for help. He (PBUH) said:

عن ثَوْبان رضي الله عنه أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسم قال: (مَن يَكْفُلُ لي أن لا يسأل النَّاسَ شيئاً، وأتَكَفَّلُ لَه بالجنَّة) ]رواه أبو داود[

“Whoever guarantees me not to ask people for anything, I guarantee for him paradise”.  (Abu Dawoud)

عن أبي هريرة رضي الله عنه أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: (لأِن يحتطب أحدكم حزمة على ظهره، خير له من أن يسأل أحدا فيعطيه أو يمنعه). ]البخاري[

“It is better for anyone to go and collect wood to carry on his back instead of asking people for help, and they either give him or refuse him” (Bukhari)

The Prophet’s companion Abu Dhar said:

عن أبي ذَرّ رضي الله عنه قال: (أَمَرَنِي خَلِيلي صلى الله عليه وسلم بِسَبْعٍ: أَمَرَنِي بِحُبِّ الْمَسَاكِينِ، وَالدُّنُوِّ مِنْهُمْ، وَأَمَرَنِي أَنْ أنظر إِلَى مَنْ هُوَ دُونِي، وَلَا أَنْظُر إِلَى مَنْ هُوَ فَوْقِي، وَأَمَرَنِي أَنْ أَصِلَ الرَّحِمَ وَإِنْ أَدْبَرَتْ، وَأَمَرَنِي أَنْ لَا أَسْأَلَ أَحَدًا شَيْئًا.) ]رواه أحمد[

My dear friend (PBUH) ordered me to do seven things: to love the needy, to be close to them, to look at those who are less fortunate than me, to not to look at those who are more fortunate than me, to connect with my extended family, even if they boycotted me, and to never ask people for anything. [Ahmad]

The Prophet’s companion Awf Ibn Malik said:

عن عوف بن مالك الأشجعي رضي الله عنه قال: (كنا عند رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم تسعة أو ثمانية أو سبعة، فقال صلى الله عليه وسلم: ألا تبايعون رسولَ الله؟ قال: فبسطنا أيدينا وقلنا: قد بايعناك يا رسول الله! فعلام نبايعك؟ قال صلى الله عليه وسلم: على أن تعبدوا الله ولا تشركوا به شيئا، والصلوات الخمس، وتطيعوا، ولا تسألوا الناس شيئا. قال عوف: فلقد رأيت بعض أولئك النفر يسقط سوط أحدهم، فما يسأل أحداً يناوله إياه) ]رواه مسلم[

“We were several with the Prophet (PBUH) and He said: Do you want to make a solemn pledge with the messenger of Allah? All of us extended our hands and said: on what will we give our pledge.  He (PBUH) said: to worship Allah and don’t take anything associate with Him, to perform the five prayers, to obey me and to not ask the people for anything”.  

Awf Ibn Malik (عوف بن مالك) said that you will never see any of those who gave the pledge ask people for anything, even when a whip of one of them falls on the ground while he is riding a camel, he would come down to pick it up instead of asking anyone to hand it to him.

A student asked his righteous teacher to advise him. 

The teacher said: Be a king in this life, you will become a king in the hereafter.

The student inquired: How would I do that?  

The teacher replied: “If you don’t need anything from a person, you become his equal but if you need something from him you become his prisoner, and if you are generous to a person, you become his king.  If you become a king in this life, you will be a king in the hereafter”.

Elements to Adopt in our Character

In order to adopt elements of this divine name, Al-Malik, in our character and thus be kings in this life, we need to at least adopt the following three traits in our character:

1. We must be kings over ourselves by having full ownership and control over our desires and passions and don’t allow any of them control us.
2. We should limit our need from anyone and do not seek help from anyone other than Allah. To be a king among the people is to need nothing from anyone other than Allah. We are reminded with this element of being a king at least 17 times every day when we read Al-Fatiha and recites: إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ “You alone we worship and from You alone we seek help”. Even if you need to ask someone for help, never humiliate yourself or get angry if he does not help because he is merely the mean for the help and not the source.  Only Allah who decrees whether He wants to grant you the help you need and designate who can help you.
3. We should have full trust in Allah and have no fear of loss of wealth or power. To be a king among people, you should always be the giver and the helper because you believe that the source from which you drew your wealth and power is infinite and no matter how much you spend you will have more from the Ultimate King, Allah.

The next name that we will discuss is Allah’s name Al-Quddus,

Al-Quddus (القدوس) – The Pure One, The Holy

Allah’s name “Al-Quddus” was revealed in two verses:

هُوَ اللَّهُ الَّذِي لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْمَلِكُ الْقُدُّوسُ

“He is Allah, there is no god but He, the King, the Holy” (Al-Hashr 59:23)

يُسَبِّحُ لِلَّهِ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ الْمَلِكِ الْقُدُّوسِ

“Whatever is in the Heavens and on the Earth celebrates the praises of Allah, the King, the Holy.’ (Al-Jumu’ah 62:1)

This name is derived from the root “qudus” (قدس) meaning purity and freedom from any imperfection. 

Allah’s name Al-Quddus (الْقُدُّوسِ) is translated as “the Pure One”, “the Absolute Perfect”, and “the Holy”.  Scholars have also given a definition of the name Al-Quddus (الْقُدُّوسِ) as: “The pure from all descriptions of human perfections”.   While this definition appears to be perplexing, but what they meant is that Allah’s perfections are infinite and thus they are beyond comparison with any perfection that is attributed to humans that are finite no matter how great they are.    Allah’s perfections in areas such as knowledge, power, wealth, wisdom, hearing, sight, speech, etc., transcend all the attributes of human perfections and thus they are beyond any human description or imagination, though we still use our limited human terms to describe them.

When Allah informed the anegls that He would be creating a Khalifa (خَلِيفَةً) vicegerent on Earth, they said:

أَتَجْعَلُ فِيهَا مَنْ يُفْسِدُ فِيهَا وَيَسْفِكُ الدِّمَاءَ وَنَحْنُ نُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِكَ وَنُقَدِّسُ لَكَ قَالَ إِنِّي أَعْلَمُ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ

“will You place in it someone who will cause mischief in it and shed blood, while we, we hymn Your praise and glorify Your holiness? He said: I know that which you do not know.”   (Al-Baqara 2:30)

The angels action (وَنُقَدِّسُ لَكَ ) was translated as “glorify your holiness” but it has also been translated as “we sanctify for You”, meaning: “we purify ourselves to be worthy of being near you.”. 

Allah attributed purity to several of His creations by deriving their names from His name Al-Quddus.  As examples:

1. Allah named the archangel Gabriel; “Ruh Al-Qudus” (رُوحِ الْقُدُسِ), “Holy Spirit” because he is pure from any imperfection in delivering the revelations to Allah’s messengers.
2. Allah named Palestine as “Al-Ard Al-Muqadasah” (الْأَرْضَ الْمُقَدَّسَةَ), “the Holy Land”
3. Allah named the valley at which He spoke to Prophet Moses as “Alwadi al-Muqadas” (الْوَادِ الْمُقَدَّسِ), the holy valley.

Emphasizing the importance of the physical and spiritual purities was essential part of the teaching of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).  It is important that we should purify ourselves to be worthy of serving as Allah’s vicegerent (Khalifa). In a hadith Qudsi, Allah said:

عبدي طهرت منظر الخلق سنين، أفلا طهرت منظري ساعة

 “My slave you have purified yourself for people for many years, wouldn’t you be able to purify yourself for me even for one hour.”  

And we know that the purity that Allah demands is the purity of our heart and our deeds, as He said:

إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَنْظُرُ إِلَى صُوَرِكُمْ وَأَمْوَالِكُمْ، وَلَكِنْ يَنْظُرُ إِلَى قُلُوبِكُمْ وَأَعْمَالِكُ) ”)  مسلم(

“Allah does not look at your appearance or your wealth, but he looks at your heart and your deeds.

While we may be impressed by people based on their outside look, this does not mean anything to Allah, Allah looks at the heart and the deeds because righteous deeds are reflection of the purity of the heart.    Therefore, you always need to be aware of the purity of your heart because it is a prerequisite for your success in the Hereafter.  Allah says:

﴿يَوْمَ لَا يَنْفَعُ مَالٌ وَلَا بَنُونَ (88) إِلَّا مَنْ أَتَى اللَّهَ بِقَلْبٍ سَلِيمٍ﴾ (سورة الشعراء (

“At that day neither wealth nor progeny shall be of benefit (88), except one who comes to Allah with a pure heart.” (Al-Shuara 26:88-89)

The Prophet (PBUH) did not only emphasize the importance of purification of the heart from all diseases such as anger, hatred, envy, etc., but he (PBUH) also emphasized the importance of purifying and cleansing the body by regular washing and bathing.   In Islam washing and bathing go beyond the required ritualistic washing before prayers and bathing at least once per week and after menstruation, sexual relations, and nocturnal emission. 

The following are examples of the Prophet’s sayings that emphasize the importance of physical purity:

عن أَبِي مَالِكٍ الْأَشْعَرِيِّ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: “الطُّهُورُ شَطْرُ الْإِيمَانِ…” رواه مسلم

“Purification is part of Belief” (Muslim)

عن ابن عمر رضي الله عنه، قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: “طَهِّروا هذه الأجساد، طهَّركم اللهُ؛ فإنَّه ليس من عبدٍ يبيتُ طاهراً إلا باتَ معه في شِعاره مَلَك، لا ينقلبُ ساعةً من الليلِ إلا قال: اللهم اغفر لعبدِكَ؛ فإنَّه باتَ طاهراً.”[ (للطبراني(

“Purify your bodies and Allah will purify you. No person sleeps purified but an angel will remain with him, supplicating to Allah every hour of the night by saying: O Allah your slave slept purified, O Allah forgive him.”  (Al-Tabarani)

The Prophet (PBUH) also emphasized purifying the mouth by regularly brushing the teeth using the Swak.  He (PBUH) said:

قَالَتْ أُمُّ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ عَائِشَةُ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهَا عَنْ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: “السِّوَاكُ مَطْهَرَةٌ لِلْفَمِ، مَرْضَاةٌ لِلرَّبِّ” رواه البخاري.

“The Swak is disinfectant to the mouth and pleasing to the Lord.” (Bukhari)

While the purtiy of your heart is important, the purity of your look is also important because it is acknowledgement of the blessing of Allah who created you in the best form.   Allah says:

خَلَقَ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٲتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضَ بِٱلۡحَقِّ وَصَوَّرَكُمۡ فَأَحۡسَنَ صُوَرَكُمۡ‌ۖ وَإِلَيۡهِ ٱلۡمَصِيرُ (٣)

He has created the heavens and the earth with truth, and He shaped you and made your shapes good, And to Him is the final Return. (Al-Taghabun 64:3)

The Prophet (PBUH) emphasized that Muslims should strive to look nice because every Muslim is a representative of Islam.  The Prophet (PBUH) said:

عن سهل ابن الحنظلية قال : قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم : ” أحسنوا لباسكم وأصلحوا رحالكم حتى تكونوا كأنكم شامة في ” . ]أخرجة أبو داود والحاكم وأحمد[

“Dress well and organize your travels properly, so that you will be noble among people”.

The Prophet (PBUH) was a role model to the companions for the purity and the beauty of His clothing and the sweetness of his smell.  He never left the house without being  dressed properly and wearing perfume. The Prophet’s wife Aysha (PBUH) said:

عن عائشة رضي الله عنها أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم: (كان يحب الطيب، ويأمر به).

The Prophet (PBUH) used to love perfumes and orders others to wear it.

The Prophet (PBUH) said:

عن أبي ذر رضي الله عنه قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: (منِ اغتسل يومَ الجمعة فأحسنَ الغُسْل، وتطهَّر فأحسَنَ الطُّهور، ولبِسَ مِنْ أحسن ثيابه، ومَسَّ مَا كتَبَ الله له مِنْ طيبِ أوْ دُهْنِ أهله، ثُمَّ أتى المسجد، فلم يَلْغُ، ولم يُفَرِّقْ بينَ اثنينِ، غفر الله له ما بينه وبين الجمعة الأُخْرى) رواه الطبراني.

“Whoever washed on Friday and perfected His washing and purified and perfected his purity and puts on his best clothes, puts on the best perfume he has and then came to the mosque, don’t engage in idle talk and from separating between two people (pushing them a part), Allah will forgive for him whatever between this Friday and the next”.

Elements to Adopt in our Character

A person whose heart knows the meaning of Al-Quddus (الْقُدُّوسِ) will always seek to purify himself to be worthy of being seen by Allah all the time and especially when communicating with Him during prayers or supplications. In order to possess part of Allah’s name Al-Quddus (الْقُدُّوسِ) you must purify your heart, your knowledge, your actions and your body.  You need to ensure that you incorporate the following elements in your character:

1. The purification of your heart from all types of deficiencies and diseases of hatred, jealousy, hypocrisy, arrogance, miserliness, etc.  
2. The purification of your heart by filling it with the love of Allah and the desire to be with Him in Paradise
3. The purification of your knowledge from all types of fancy, tangible, and imagined things.
4. The purification of your limbs from engaging in any action or being near anything that is sinful and displeasing to Allah.
5. The purification of your body by cleansing it and beautifying your external appearance.
6. Ensuring the purity of the places you visit, the spare time you have, the people you take as friends, the words that you utter, the scenes that you see, and the thoughts that you contemplate.

We pray to Allah to help us purify ourselves, spiritually and physically, to be worthy of being serving as Allah’s Khalifa on earth and be role model of others. 

Next time, we will inshallah continue with the other names of Allah in verse 23 of Surat Al-Hashr (59).

هُوَ اللَّهُ الَّذِي لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْمَلِكُ الْقُدُّوسُ السَّلَامُ الْمُؤْمِنُ الْمُهَيْمِنُ الْعَزِيزُ الْجَبَّارُ الْمُتَكَبِّرُ سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ

“He is Allah, there is no god but He, Al-Malik (The King), Al-Quddus (The Holy), the Source of Peace, the Keeper of Faith,  the Guardian, the Eminent, the Compeller, the Proud, glory to Allah above the partners they attribute to Him.” (Al-Hashr 59:23)

DUA